21 st Century Science

1. 21st Century Science Creating a Case Study GCSE Coursework 20%

2. Introduction Everyday life has many questions science can help to answer. You may meet these in media reports, e.g on television on radio in newspapers, or magazines. A case study is a report which weighs up evidence about a scientific question

3. Where do I start? Sources of information could include • Internet • School library • Your Science Textbook and notes • Local public Library • TV • Radio • Newspapers and magazines • Museums and exhibitions

4. Information from specific people or organisations You could: • Interview a scientist • Write a letter to an organisation To get useful information from other people, make sure you have detailed questions beforehand. Speak or write to them and explain who you are and what you are doing Make sure you ask for just the information you really need.

5. When will you be doing this? • Your Case Study may be done in class time • You may also do some research out of class • Your Data Analysis must be based on a practical you do in class

6. Topics Case study Choose a topic from one of the following categories • A question where the scientific knowledge is not certain. For example, ‘Does mobile phones cause brain damage?’ • A question about decision-making using scientific information. For example, ‘Should cars be banned from a shopping street to reduce air pollution?’, ‘Should the government stop research into human cloning?’

7. Examples • A question about a personal issue involving science. For example ‘Should my child have the MMR vaccine?’ You should find out what different people have said about the issue. Then evaluate this information and make your own conclusion.

8. Selecting Information • Collect information from different places- books the internet, newspapers • Say where your information has come from • Choose only information that is relevant to the question you are studying • Decide how reliable each source of information is

9. Understanding the Question • Use scientific knowledge and understanding to explain the topic you are studying • When you report what other people have said, say what scientific evidence they had(from experiments, surveys etc.)

10. Making your own Conclusions • Compare different evidence and points of view • Consider the benefits and risks of different courses of action • Say what you think should be done and link this to the evidence you have reported.

11. Present your Study • Make sure your report is laid out clearly in a sensible order • Use pictures, tables, charts, graphs etc to present information • Take care with your spelling, grammar, punctuation, and use scientific terms where they are appropriate.